This coming season will mark the 11th year I have participated in The Huddle Expert Auction League. Over the first 10 seasons, FF Today has made the six-team playoff every time (last year's team was a No. 1 seed for the second straight time) and advanced to the championship game in seven of the last nine years - winning it all for the third time. Suffice it to say my approach has proven to be effective.

This year’s draft was held on August 6 - two weeks earlier than last season and at least one week earlier than usual - so keep that date in mind as you review the prices below (both the price each player went for and the value at which I set for him).

Below, you will find the values I used to prioritize the players and the rationale I used in selecting my team.

Pre-draft

Due to how much earlier the draft was this year and the fact I had just finished my first Big Board less than 24 hours earlier, it's fair to say this is the least prepared I have felt entering an auction draft since probably the first time I participated in one back in 2009. In other words, I had a plan formulated but no time to actually test it out.

The plan entering this particular auction was securing one of my top three backs (Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley), another potential high-end RB1 at a discount price (someone like Todd Gurley or Dalvin Cook who has overall RB1 upside but was cheaper than usual for obvious reasons) and a top-end WR1. I also wanted either Travis Kelce, Zach Ertz or George Kittle, although securing either one of them was less important to me than satisfying my first three wishes.

Kamara was generally regarded as the fourth-best option at running back in July and early August drafts. Since he's the top player on my Big Board, it was a no-brainer to target him since he should come the cheapest of the four top backs. Short of landing Kelce or Kittle, I wanted to spend less than $15 at tight end. Given the depth at quarterback, I hoped I could show enough restraint to pay less than $10.

Each year, I also make it a point to pay less than my valuation on just about every player, knowing the depth at receiver will allow me to find a bargain or two. Ideally, I’ll come away from a draft with two surefire starters at running back and another mid-priced player I believe will be an RB2 to use as my flex, but it doesn’t always work that way.

Although it is a departure from conventional auction-draft strategy, I’ve never been a big fan of setting pre-draft positional budgets – such as spending 40 percent of my budget at receiver or $80 at running back. My method: isolate the players I want the most, highlight them on my spreadsheet and keep a record of how much a player goes for a little bit lower on the page. I stay true to my valuations with very few exceptions and stick with that "preferred" list of players as long as possible. A list of 300-plus players can be daunting, especially when trying to research how much players in a certain tier went for with no more than 10 or 15 seconds to make a decision, so it makes a ton of sense to focus in on about 50.

The Draft

Players with bolded names are ones I specifically selected before the draft as players I was targeting. The key is picking players from several different tiers and expected cost valuations.

Below you will find the actual prices that secured a player’s services (Act $) and the price I valued them before the draft (My $). A dash in the first column reflects the fact a player was not nominated. The highlight represents winning bids for FF Today. Finally, I will follow each position with some brief commentary.

All values are based on a $200 cap and players are organized by “My $”. All players that were nominated are included, but I removed a number of players that are unlikely to go in auctions in leagues with 12 teams and 18-man rosters or for other common-sense reasons.

Required starters: 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 Flex, 1 K and 1 Defense/Special Teams unit.

As the last sentence suggests, I strive for quarterbacks with the ability to provide at least 200 rushing yards and a few touchdowns on the ground in leagues such as this one. Short of that, I want a proven starter with a great supporting cast. While most owners draft two quarterbacks just to be on the safe side, I think there is plenty of merit of going with one in a 12-team league - especially if an owner lands one of the top five options at the position.

Total spent at QB: $17

Cook ($46) was my primary RB2 target - as that potential RB1 who comes at a discount because of his injury history I mentioned earlier - after I landed Kamara, but the bidding for him quickly got out of hand, as he ended up going for the same price as Kamara. While Cook is definitely poised to explode this year, I would need to know Ezekiel Elliott ($45) was missing games for sure before I could justify that price. What made it even odder was that Cook was the fifth player to come up for bid, two spots ahead of Elliott. Another curious call by the league had to do with Melvin Gordon ($21). I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure he is worth a first-round pick in fantasy drafts even before he decided to hold out given his durability issues. But $21? That was the same price as James White and $11 less than David Montgomery attracted. It's also $5 less than Marlon Mack, Josh Jacobs and Aaron Jones. Again, this happened within the first 20 minutes of the draft, so it's hard to blame it on lack of funds or significant tier drop. (David Johnson and Joe Mixon were among the backs still available.)

I quickly shifted gears to Gurley ($37), who may be the one player I was willing to bend my budgeting rules for. There's no question he comes with risk, but I maintain - as I have all summer long - that the Rams would have done more to address the position if they didn't think Gurley would only be a shell of himself. As I mentioned earlier this summer, even if we trim 25 percent of his production across the board (touches, yards, touchdowns, etc.) in each of the last two years, he still would have finished as the RB8 in 2018 and RB5 in 2017. I can live with the risk if he can deliver that kind of production, even if it is only for 10 or 12 games.

Had the draft been held one week later, I may have shifted my RB2 focus from Gurley to Chris Carson ($25) or Nick Chubb ($33). It's becoming pretty clear that for as much as the Seahawks drafted Rashaad Penny to eventually be the man, Carson isn't allowing it to happen. Chubb's stock got a nice boost once the Duke Johnson trade to Houston was announced a few days after the draft. Besides Cook, Montgomery ($32) and Latavius Murray ($15) jump out to me as the most obvious overpays. Like Cook, Montgomery could easily live up to his price tag, but he's probably going to need some help in the form of Mike Davis and/or Tarik Cohen getting hurt. While I love the talent, I'm not sure Chicago's depth will allow him to ascend into the Chubb-Mixon-Kerryon Johnson tier this year. Gridiron Experts admitted he overpaid a bit on Murray in order to secure some peace of mind with Elliott's situation in limbo. Then again, if we look back to how much owners were spending for Mark Ingram last year when everyone knew he would miss four games, then perhaps Murray could be considered a bit of a value here after all.

In terms of great values, it's hard not to like single-digit dollar acquisitions of potential high-end players such as Royce Freeman ($8), Jaylen Samuels ($7), Penny ($5), Ronald Jones ($3), Justice Hill ($2) and Duke Johnson ($1). While none of the players figure to be "league winners," all have reasonably clear paths to be solid flex plays and could ascend to RB2 status if things break right.

Total spent at RB: $98

On the other of the spectrum, A.J. Green drawing a $21 bid when there is very little certainty he will be ready in September was an eye-opener. I realize Hill ($40) has been cleared by the NFL, but I am still treating him very much as a high-risk player. The degree to which some owners are unfazed by the likelihood of him either getting himself in hot water again baffles me probably about as much as my willingness to believe in Gurley baffles everyone else. The difference between the two cases is there is a limited number of running backs capable of performing at Gurley's level even if he only handles 75 percent of his usual workload and/or misses a few games. I have 15 receivers projected for at least 80 catches, 13 projected for at least 1,100 yards receiving and five for at least 10 touchdowns. Of course, that's not to say every one of those players will reach those benchmarks, but there's a much stronger possibility of it than a similar number of running backs doing what Gurley is capable of doing - even at 75 percent of his usual workload.

Given the quality and quantity of potential WR2s this year, there will inevitably be a few players who draw lower bids than expected. In this draft, Kenny Golladay ($18), Allen Robinson ($16), Tyler Boyd ($15) and Mike Williams ($14) were some of the more surprising. Even in an offense that should see depressed volume, Golladay should live up to his price tag in this draft. Robinson will be nearly two years removed from ACL surgery by the start of the season and did some solid work over the second half of 2018 - highlighted by his 10-143-1 performance in the playoff loss to the Eagles. Boyd may not be a one-for-one replacement for A.J. Green while the latter recovers, but he should see a healthy amount of volume regardless. Williams has as good a chance to lead his position group in touchdowns as anyone.

It seems like there is at least one zero-RB owner in every draft and this league's advocate has routinely been RotoViz (Stefon Diggs, Hill, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Sammy Watkins, Dede Westbrook, etc.). It's hard not to like what USA TODAY Sports did at the position even if he didn't secure one of the recognized elite options (Geronimo Allison, Chris Godwin, Golladay, Donte Moncrief, D.J. Moore and Golden Tate). USA TODAY Sports did well to land Carson, Josh Jacobs and Marlon Mack as his starting backs, making his team as balanced and deep at the most important positions as any team in the league. Even with two owners acquiring that much receiver talent on their teams, there was still plenty left for the majority of owners though.

Some of the better bargains at receiver: Fitzgerald ($14), Christian Kirk ($11), Alshon Jeffrey ($10), Jarvis Landry ($9), Moncrief ($5), Anthony Miller ($4), Westbrook ($3), DeSean Jackson ($3), Jamison Crowder ($3), Watkins ($3), Michael Gallup ($2) and Parris Campbell ($1).

Total spent at WR: $67

It can be a bit scary to go cheap at tight end when you consider that at least 25 percent of the owners in a 12-team league will be starting Kelce, Kittle or Ertz almost every week, but there is significant talent that will be available cheap at the end of just about every auction. Delanie Walker ($3) is a steal if he can go back to being the same dependable option he was prior to last year's season-ending ankle injury. At his price, it's worth finding out if he's got one more year left in his 35-year-old body. It was odd to see Hooper ($2) go so cheap. I'm personally not a fan of his ability to repeat his overall TE6 finish last year, but he's still a serviceable starter in my book and a bargain at that price. The same can probably be said for Mark Andrews ($1).

Darren Waller ($3) has been a consistent target of mine all summer and will continue to be. David Njoku ($3) has overall TE1 talent, but is there going to be enough volume in Cleveland? Last but not least, Chris Herndon ($1) should not be going for a buck in any league that has an IR spot or two like this league does. He's a great stash in those leagues and allows owners to free up a spot on the roster for another high-upside talent before the season starts.

Total spent at TE: $15

Total spent at D/ST: $1

Post-draft

The FFToday team
QB: Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston*
RB: Alvin Kamara, Todd Gurley, Kenyan Drake, Giovani Bernard, Malcolm Brown
WR: Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald, James Washington*, Paris Campbell, Miles Boykin, Maurice Harris, Danny Amendola
TE: O.J. Howard, Chris Herndon
K: Justin Tucker
D/ST: Denver Broncos

* Since traded for Josh Allen and Anthony Miller

Through about two hours of the draft, I could not have been much happier. My biggest self-critique at that point was not bidding more on Smith-Schuster ($41), which would have saved me a few bucks over Julio Jones ($47). But two momentary lapses in judgment at quarterback cost me from building the kind of team I was capable of putting together. To be clear, I have no problem with Watson (my overall QB2) and Winston (QB10). But spending $17 on the two of them when I had set my sights on Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson - who ended up going for $3 apiece - entering the draft made it nearly impossible to get the WR3 I could have otherwise landed. That was a bitter pill to swallow late when I did not have enough left to secure wideouts such as Dede Westbrook or DeSean Jackson. While I will place some of the blame on not having the time I would've liked to prepare for this draft, it was still a foolish mistake to make. Thankfully, if I'm going to enter the season with a weakness - and every team has one - it would be at my WR3 spot.

I'll admit I was not happy with myself when I realized the impact my "decision" at quarterback had at receiver. (I feel I corrected that somewhat via my aforementioned trade, but it's still a position I should not have put myself in.) Thankfully, I took a look at last year's draft as I began to write this article and realized only one of my low-end WR1 selections (Stefon Diggs, Doug Baldwin and Emmanuel Sanders) from 2018 was still contributing to my team at the end of the year. Throw in the fact how little return on investment I got from Rob Gronkowski and it's reasonable to wonder how my team won the league going away.

Regarding the composition of this team, I'm not sure there's much to discuss at quarterback. Few will argue Houston and Tampa Bay should field two of the more explosive offenses in 2019. Of course, my trade changes things. I'm not a big fan of Allen this year, so the odds are strong he will be off my roster sooner than later. I have also started to move away from keeping a backup quarterback on the roster in recent years anyway, so I may use Allen's roster spot to add depth at running back or receiver.

There is obvious risk at the running back position. Yet, I'm not sure I've ever entered a season in this league with a better trio. Kamara is about as safe as they come at running back because so many of his touches come as a receiver AND he isn't asked to carry a heavy load as a runner. RB2s almost always come with some kind of risk, so if the price I have to pay for potential top-five production at the position is a surprise inactive or two or four over the course of the season, that's OK. Show me another back capable of what Gurley can do.

I was thrilled to get Drake at $13. While owners fret about whether he will start over Kalen Ballage or not, I'll take my chances Miami will face plenty of negative game script. I see a cheaper version of 2018 James White who should get more touches than his New England counterpart did. I had no intention of nominating Brown as early as I did and equally surprised no one bid him up. While handcuffing isn't exactly a goal of mine anymore, securing Brown makes me feel even better about landing Gurley. Bernard also strikes me as an underrated option in 2019. It wouldn't surprise me much if he sees more usage than Darrell Henderson AND I think he'll be asked to serve as the primary back in the event Mixon is forced to miss a game or two.

I feel much better about the receiver position now than I did in the moments following the draft. No one is going to quibble about Jones as a WR1, especially on a team that has Kamara and Gurley at running back. The mistake I made with Fitzgerald last year wasn't taking an older receiver, but one from a team with a bad offensive line paired with a largely immobile quarterback and an offensive coordinator with a poor recent track record. I have no problem with him being my WR2 this year. Getting stuck with James Washington as my WR3 was what really upset me, even though I believe Campbell can ascend to that status before the end of the season. Getting Miller in a trade - trades don't happen very often in this league - was a big deal for me, as I consider him to be a viable WR3 right away. Harris is a complete wild-card who flashed for Washington last year, and he appears to have a bit of edge to become a starter in New England. We'll see about that, but he's worth a flier at $1. Amendola was honestly a poor call on my part when players like Hardman and particularly Sanu were still on the board. Both went undrafted, however, so I still have a chance to right that wrong.

The tight end position has long been a sore subject for my team in this league. I thought I ended it last year by nabbing Rob Gronkowski, but I was too late to that party. Beginning with my primary dynasty team this spring, I identified Howard as a player I believe is capable of making the jump into elite TE1 territory. Durability has been the only thing to hold him back through his first two seasons. Even though he is staring at a four-game suspension to begin the season, Herndon for $1 was another stunner to me. Not only can I place him on IR to begin the season and open up a roster spot, but I think he makes for great insurance for Howard.

Tucker is about as good as it gets at kicker, so I should be set there. The Broncos begin their season with the Raiders, Bears, Packers, Jaguars, Chargers and Titans. Given the talent and coaching acumen Denver has, I would be surprised if four of those matchups weren't favorable. I'm hoping the Broncos will be my defense for the whole season, but I'll probably revisit where I stand with them when September ends.